Dragon News
June 6, 2026
Thank you Mrs. Trujillo!
As we get ready to send off our 25th graduating class, one person has been at the heart of every single one of those. Mrs. Trujillo is a founding teacher and the guardian of the flame at Charter - this summer we wish her all the best as she begins her retirement. Below is a tribute from her daughter, alumna and Board member, Christina Trujillo.
Debbie Trujillo has been a figure guiding and shaping Santa Ynez Valley Charter School since its founding. Mrs. Trujillo received her BS in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Purdue University, earned both her Master's with a focus on Algebra Readiness for 8th Graders and her multiple-subject credential from Chapman University, and is approved through Santa Barbara County to teach Biology and Social Studies. During her time at SYVCS, Mrs. Trujillo has taught Pre-Algebra, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade history--including a special focus on the US Constitution with 8th graders, as well as 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade science.
But these facts are hardly a full reflection of the impact Mrs. Trujillo has had on SYVCS. Mrs. Trujillo has been with SYVCS from the beginning, teaching students during the week and helping to pull weeds in the garden on the weekend. Her children attended SYVCS, and her grandchildren attended SYVCS--and they helped pull some of those garden weeds right along with her. She has saved years worth of student projects and is always ready to pull them out and reminisce when a past student comes by to visit--or when a past student walks their own little dragon into her classroom for the first time. After 25 years of early mornings, making sure she was there with her classroom door open for any student dropped off early, and late nights, often the last one to leave campus after making sure all our After Care students have been picked up safely, Mrs. Trujillo has shaped the SYVCS student experience in ways large and small. The SYVCS yearbook became a creative passion, and graduation planning for her 8th-grade homeroom students a yearly rite of passage. Her passion was, is, and will always be the SYVCS students.
Now facing her own rite of passage, Mrs. Trujillo looks forward to spending more time with her family, traveling with her husband, Javier, and their dogs (Teddy and Ella say hi!) and exploring where her passions take her next. Wherever those passions take her, she’s sure to find a dragon along the way.
Thank you Mrs. Trujillo!
As we get ready to send off our 25th graduating class, one person has been at the heart of every single one of those. Mrs. Trujillo is a founding teacher and the guardian of the flame at Charter - this summer we wish her all the best as she begins her retirement. Below is a tribute from her daughter, alumna and Board member, Christina Trujillo.
Debbie Trujillo has been a figure guiding and shaping Santa Ynez Valley Charter School since its founding. Mrs. Trujillo received her BS in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Purdue University, earned both her Master's with a focus on Algebra Readiness for 8th Graders and her multiple-subject credential from Chapman University, and is approved through Santa Barbara County to teach Biology and Social Studies. During her time at SYVCS, Mrs. Trujillo has taught Pre-Algebra, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade history--including a special focus on the US Constitution with 8th graders, as well as 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade science.
But these facts are hardly a full reflection of the impact Mrs. Trujillo has had on SYVCS. Mrs. Trujillo has been with SYVCS from the beginning, teaching students during the week and helping to pull weeds in the garden on the weekend. Her children attended SYVCS, and her grandchildren attended SYVCS--and they helped pull some of those garden weeds right along with her. She has saved years worth of student projects and is always ready to pull them out and reminisce when a past student comes by to visit--or when a past student walks their own little dragon into her classroom for the first time. After 25 years of early mornings, making sure she was there with her classroom door open for any student dropped off early, and late nights, often the last one to leave campus after making sure all our After Care students have been picked up safely, Mrs. Trujillo has shaped the SYVCS student experience in ways large and small. The SYVCS yearbook became a creative passion, and graduation planning for her 8th-grade homeroom students a yearly rite of passage. Her passion was, is, and will always be the SYVCS students.
Now facing her own rite of passage, Mrs. Trujillo looks forward to spending more time with her family, traveling with her husband, Javier, and their dogs (Teddy and Ella say hi!) and exploring where her passions take her next. Wherever those passions take her, she’s sure to find a dragon along the way.
